Atholl Hill papers relating to railway design. Papers include photographs, 35mm colour slides, reports, publications, publicity material, drawings in three portfolios (bindings are fragile) and a small amount of ephemera. These relate to design projects carried out for British Railways including APT-E (Advanced Passenger Train Experimental), HST (High Speed Train, Class 43, Intercity 125), Mark 3 carriage design, early Maglev (magnetic levitation) design, early 'road railer' designs for what became the 'Pacer' (operational name for British Rail classes 140, 141, 142, 143 and 144 diesel multiple unit railbuses), double decker commuter trains, British Rail livery schemes. 2 boxes 1 bundle.

This collection tells the untold story of the key role that railways played in contemporary design from the 1960s to the present day. Atholl Hill was Head of British Rail (BR)’s Industrial Design Department from the late 1960s until 1978. He was the lead designer on many of Britain’s most important rail vehicle developments in that time, including Advanced Passenger Train Experimental (APT-E), Advanced Passenger Train Prototype (APT-P), Maglev and the Mark 3 carriage. Besides the many technical innovations that were incorporated into the APT-E, the train unit’s design and aesthetics were critical in projecting an image of the future of railways.

He also played a leading design development role for the High Speed train (HST), the BR Hovercraft fleet, BR liveries, the Great Northern Electric fleet, new carriages for the Queen and Prince Philip and the Pacer as well as a never built powerful freight locomotive and double decker commuter train. His assistant Keith Wrightson designed the interiors of the Mark 3 and APT carriages.